Free US Law Dictionary

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Cheating in poker is any behavior outside the rules that is intended to give an unfair advantage to one or more players.

Cheating can be done many ways, including collusion, sleight-of-hand (such as bottom dealing or stacking the deck), or the use of physical objects such as Marked cards or holdout devices.

Cheating occurs in both friendly games and casinos. Cheats may operate alone, but also may operate in teams or small groups.

Following is a list of terms used to categorize specific card cheats:

• card mechanic: A card cheat who specializes in sleight-of-hand manipulation of cards, a card sharp.
• base dealer: Also called a bottom dealer, or a second dealer, this relies on two related methods that manipulate the dealing of cards.
• paper player: A card cheat that exploits the use of marked cards.
• hand mucker: A card cheat that specializes in switching cards.
• machine player: A card cheat that uses mechanical holdouts.